Why "good-first-issues" are usually not good first issues
9 months ago
- #contributing
- #GitHub
- #open-source
- Contributing to open-source projects is a common goal for programmers, and 'good first issues' are often the starting point.
- GitHub promotes 'good first issues' to newcomers, but these issues frequently turn out to be unhelpful or misleading.
- Common problems with 'good first issues' include stale issues, unattended PRs, ambiguous context, and misalignment with actual project workflows.
- GitHub issues may not reflect the real work happening in a project, as many teams collaborate outside GitHub (e.g., Discord, email).
- Projects should improve 'good first issues' by ensuring clarity, relevance, and responsiveness to help newcomers contribute effectively.